Broke
by eMuffinator
Summary: Human!Stuck: John's bullies are getting worse and worse - and one day, one of them goes way too far. But luckily, John's friend is always there for him. Rated M for violence, explicit language/themes, and possible later smut.
1. Chapter 1: The Downfall

**My first fan fic, based off an RP I had. Any and all criticism is accepted and appreciated!**

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The bell rang, signaling the end of the school day and waking John from his nap. He clinched his eyes shut, and pulled his head up, suppressing a disheartened groan. He hadn't been getting much rest lately. The bullying he was submitted to at school was getting progressively worse. The guys on the football team had always bullied him since the day they started school together, but ever since they found out about John's sexuality, they saw that as a legitimate reason to push him around. John didn't even know how they'd found out, and that only made it harder to handle. He stayed awake most nights, often crying himself to sleep. The young man hadn't been without a bruise or cut for weeks now, always getting shoved around in the school hallways. The bullies had got even rougher in the past few days, beating him up on a regular basis. Though it was never for long, considering that he only ever saw them on school grounds.

John half-heartedly lifted himself from the chair, gathering his things and shoving them into his backpack. Still groggy from sleep, he crouched down to pick up a stray piece of paper, not noticing the girl walking behind him. Before he could react, she tripped over his foot, letting out a girlish yelp and dropping her heavy backpack on John's back.

"I'm so sor- ACH"

His back cracked, the backpack forcing him to fall to the ground. He quickly picked himself up, apologizing over and over while scrambling to retrieve the girl's backpack.

"I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to make you fall!"

John looked at the girl's face, realizing who she was. Girlfriend of the team captain of the football team. Fucking perfect...

The girl stared at John for a moment before grabbing her backpack and quickly exiting the room with her friends, gossiping as she walked. Obviously about John. There was no doubt in his mind. He let out a sigh and proceeded to pick up the rest of his things, ignoring everyone left in the room staring at him.

As soon as he had his things, he spared no time in getting the hell out of there. He didn't want anyone to talk to him for fear of being bullied. He could barely talk to his best friends now because they were guys, and the guys on the football team would bully both John and his friends. He wanted anything but to have them be bullied to.

John headed straight outside and ignored everything as he semi-jogged home, terrified that he'd run into one of his bullies on the way home. He kept his eyes on his feet, glancing up every so often to make sure he was still alone. The boy walked around a corner and looked up to see a group of football players talking in front of a local shop. Obviously loitering. John tried not to change his pace as he veered to the opposite side of the street and sunk back into an alleyway. Despite John's efforts, he heard deep, familiar laughter coming closer. "Shit, shit, shit..." he muttered to himself as he went further back into the alley.

"Haha, look guys! The faggot's going home, right? Let's see where this faggot lives! Maybe we can talk to his daddy." John walked faster, his heart beating in his throat. 'They won't do anything too bad. Just avoid going home until they decide to go.' he told himself.

"Heh, I have a better idea. Let's kick his ass. The faggot'll love that, won't he?"

_ Fuck, fuck, fuck..._ John began running now, desperately trying to avoid the inevitable. It wasn't long until he heard their footsteps go faster than his in a matter of seconds. He felt himself be thrown against a brick wall, his head making an audible crack on the hard surface. He already felt his own blood running down his temple.

"Haha! He's already bleeding, this is gonna be great."

John sighed and held back tears, leaning against the wall. Might as well just let it happen. Maybe it wouldn't be as bad if he didn't fight back. He had no hope of getting away anyway. There were 5 of them, and one of him. Not to mention they spent every day lifting weights and running miles around the school.  
"Oh, look, little faggots give up so fucking easily! Hahaha!"

"Look, Matt, the faggot wants to suck your dick. What a fucking joke!"

John closed his eyes tight, preparing himself for whatever they had in store for him. "Just get it over with, guys," he muttered.

A swift blow to the side of John's head caused more blood to flow from the previous wound. "Shut up, faggot, the big boys are talking!"

John spit blood on the ground next to one of the player's feet. "Come on, guys, you're smart, right? You can figure your stupid bullying stuff quicker than thi-GAH" His sentence was cut off by a punch to the stomach, sending him on his hands and knees.

"I told you to shut the fuck up, faggot!" The football player - Matt, was it? - kicked John in the side, forcing John to lie on the ground. Matt smirked and kicked John again, harder. John coughed, spitting out blood onto Matt's polished shoes. If he was gonna get his ass kicked anyway, might as well get at least a little bit even, right?

Matt sneered at the red liquid on his shoe. His instant reaction was to kick John in the face, wiping the rest of the blood off on John's shirt. Matt spat on John before kicking him in the stomach again.

However, sirens in the background caught the football players' attention. They all stopped and listened for a moment before running quickly out of sight. John lay on the ground, remaining still until he was sure they were gone. He lifted himself up slightly, being careful with his new and fresh bruises. John knew that the sirens weren't for him. There weren't any apartments nearby. Most of the surrounding buildings were either abandoned or for storage. He rested for a moment, desperately trying to catch his breath. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and opened a new text message.

"_karkat, i just got my assk icked, need a little help. in an alley no ttoo far from school. please try to help_"

He squinted at the screen, his puffy eyes searching for typos. He didn't want to worry his best friend. He hated to ask in the first place, but he knew he wouldn't be able to walk home like this.

John figured the text was coherent enough, and hit the send button. He slipped the small phone back into his pocket. He let himself lay back down on the cold ground. He laid on his back, hoping that it would help to ease the pain, if only slightly. His eyes shut, trying to relax.

But his relaxation was cut short, hearing heavy footsteps once more. John's eyes shot open to look at who was walking his way. He knew Karkat couldn't have found him so quickly.

_ Ah, fuck..._ It was Matt. He was alone now, the others must have had enough for one day.

"Don't think I'll let you get off that fucking easy, shitbrain. You're all mine now, cocksucker."

John closed his eyes again, dreading but expecting to have a repeat of what happened only moments ago. But Matt wasn't here for that. Matt quickly positioned himself over top of John, pinning down his hands and knees. "Gay fucking faggot. Is this what you want?"

The last thing John remembered hearing was the sound of Matt tossing his belt aside.

The next thing John knew, he was laying on the ground, beaten, bloodied, and... he felt extremely violated. In the back of his mind, he knew what had happened, but he tried hard not to dwell on it. He clutched his stomach. He could feel where the skin was softer. He noticed that he was lying in a small puddle of some kind of liquid, quickly realizing it was his own blood. He felt the air sting his semi-dried wounds left by some sort of knife. He couldn't remember. He just knew it hurt.

He groaned and tried to move. He didn't have the strength to get up. He couldn't even see. His glasses were broken and laying just out of reach. Besides, he was dizzy and disoriented. All he remembered was being beat up, the rest was all fuzzy. He'd texted someone to help him, but obviously they weren't here yet. He needed someone now. Not even he could deny that, no matter how much he hated to admit it. He reached into his pocket for his phone, but found it empty. Looking around, examining things as well as he could. He thought he saw his phone, but it was out of reach. John realized that the only thing he could do was lie down and wait for his friend to find him.

After a few minutes, he began to hear hurried footsteps. A faint calling of something, but John's hearing was slurred and watery. That or the person's voice was. It began to get louder, along with the footsteps.

"..hn!... J... n! Jo..n? JOHN!? WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?"

John groaned as loud as he could, hoping it was enough. He remembered who he'd texted now. His best friend Karkat. He knew Karkat wouldn't over react to seeing him like this. He would also respect John's requests, like keeping his dad out of the matter.

The albino teen looked up and down every alley, searching for his friend whom he'd been look for for over an hour and a half. He was surprised that he still had the energy. Finally, he heard a groan from one of the alleys just a few ahead of where he was searching. He didn't hesitate to run to the mouth of the alleyway and scan the ground. Seeing John's body, Karkat immediately ran as fast as he could to his friend's side.

"Fucking hell, you said you got your ass kicked, not stabbed half to death!" he yelled. His voice shook and broke in multiple parts of the sentence. Seeing that his friends clothes were messed up and torn, the stab wounds and bruises. "John, who the hell...? Goddamnit..."

Karkat pulled his cell phone out of his hoodie pocket and dialed 911, taking of his jacket and covering John with it.

"Hello, 911? This is Karkat Vantas, I've just found my friend in an alley..."

To John, the sound of his voice was still somewhat garbled, but he heard every word. At the moment, none of it was really sinking in. Nothing felt real. His eyes began to close. Karkat said something, but he sounded miles away. Eventually, John succumbed to slumber, just as the sirens were growing louder.


	2. Chapter 2: Wake

**I'll fix the format later, my word program got messed up so I had to do it in notepad for the time being.**

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When John awoke, he could already tell that it was extremely bright wherever he was, his vision flooded with white, even behind closed eyes. He clenched his eyes shut as much as he could, trying to fight off being awake. Everything was sore, everything hurt, and it was cold. In that thought, he realized that he didn't have any idea where he was.

He sat straight up and opened his eyes, ignoring the soreness from the light, taking in his surroundings.

_I'm in a... hospital bed?_

After a few moments of looking around, all John knew was that he wanted out of there. Now. Hospitals scared him to death. This is where people die, right? He didn't want to die. He didn't want to make anyone worry by being here. He tried to stand up, but the pain was too much. Frustrated, he decided that he didn't give a shit how much it hurt, he was getting out of there.

He stood again, ignoring the pain. He started on his way to the door, but was quickly intercepted by a familiar, pale face. Karkat? Why the hell is he here?

"Get out of my way, I'm leaving." John tried to push his friend out of the way, but his strength only allowed him to slap his arm into Karkat's side like a child.

"Are you fucking kidding me? You aren't going anywhere now, so sit your ass back down," Karkat easily pulled John back to his bed. "Besides, you look like a fucking pin cushion with all those IVs. You're hooked to a shit ton of machines, man. You couldn't go anywhere if you tried."

John sighed, annoyed. He laid back down, accepting defeat. He knew Karkat wasn't trying to be a douche, he was only concerned and honest. "Wha.. what happened? Why am I in the hospital? Why are you here? Where's my dad? Where's Dave..."

"Slow down, Egbert. One question at a time, alright? Some douche bag kicked your ass, cut you up, and... just, did awful stuff to you. Now my turn for a question. Do you have ANY idea who it was?"

John clenched his eyes shut, trying hard to remember. He didn't want them getting away with this either. It was hard for him to admit, but these douche bags could NOT be forgiven this time.

"S-some guys from the f... football... team." John's eyebrows burrowed in frustration from how much it hurt to talk. He coughed, which only made the pain worsen.

"Hey, just rest, okay? It'll be okay, I'll take care of those fuckers on the football team. But I'm staying here now, at least until Dave gets here... Your dad had to go to work.. You've been here for days."

John smiled at the albino by his bedside. "Thanks, Karkat. B-but.. I think you should leave them alone... for n-now, I mean." His smile faded, replaced by a grimace from the pain and energy it took to form a simple sentence. He cursed at himself in his mind for letting this happen. He was so stupid. He should've just kept walking, they wouldn't have done this to him if he was in plain sight of other people... Tears began to form in his eyes, and he shut them tight, fighting back the tears as best he could. He couldn't let his best friends see him crying.

Karkat had no trouble seeing John's distress. He ran his fingers through his own white hair, thinking of what to do.

"John, please don't cry. Everything's gonna be okay... They aren't going to get away with this, you know... Fuck, I'm sorry I didn't find you sooner, this is all my fault..."

Dammit, now John had gotten Karkat down. This is exactly what he'd been trying to prevent.

"Stop that, man... I sh... should've stayed on the sidewalk. I-it's my fault you couldn't... find me for a while. I-i'm okay though, so... no worries, right?" He smiled through the pain, opening one watery eye and looking at Karkat. Or at least he was pretty sure it was Karkat. With no glasses and tears in his eyes, his vision wasn't exactly all it could have been.

Karkat smirked. "Do you think I'm an idiot? You've been in the hospital for 3 days, and you're just now waking up. I know I'm not a genius, but I can tell you aren't okay, idiot. We're both at fault, okay? Just shut up and get some rest, I'm gonna go tell the doctor you're awake. Don't go anywhere."

John groaned, dreading to see the doctor. He just wanted to go home and have everything go back to normal. His sight began to tremble again as his eyes filled with tears.

Goddamnit, why did I do that? Why the fuck didn't I stay on the sidewalk? Why did this happen? Shit...

His thoughts didn't help him to hold his tears back. When Karkat returned with the doctor, tears were rolling down John's cheeks. He made no sound though. He may be crying, but he could still pretend like it wasn't happening.

He smiled at the doorway. "Hey, doc... Could I have m.. my glasses... please?"

The doctor pursed his lips, off-put by the boy's appearance. "I'll see if I can find them for you, after I take a look at you. Mr. Vantas, could you step out for a moment please?"

Karkat nodded, and went out in the hallway to stand by the door.

The doctor walked to John's bed, pulling a curtain behind him for extra privacy.

"My name is Doctor Hudson, but you can just call me Hudson. Now, what's the last thing you remember about the attack? Tell me everything you can, please. Keep in mind that the more details you give, the more I can help you."

Hudson flashed a light in John's eyes, checking his pupils to make sure they dilated properly. John flinched at the bright light, but tried to remember the attack.  
He told the doctor everything he could remember. Crossing the street, going in the alley, being punched, spitting blood on Matt's shoe, texting Karkat... Recalling the event brought hot, salty tears to his eyes yet again. He knew what happened. He blamed himself for everything that happened. He didn't want to cry, but he couldn't stop himself. He kept apologizing through the tears.

"It's okay, I just wanted to know if you remembered. Now, do you know who did this?"

"Matt," he said through the sobs. "On the football team..."

The tall man smirked, pleased to get a lead for the police. "Thank you, John. You've been very brave throughout this ordeal. Rest up a bit, okay? You should be home within a few days."

With that, the doctor exited the room, waving John's friends in on the way out the door.

Karkat was the first by John's side, followed closely by Dave.

John sniffed and wiped tears away. "Hi Dave.. How are you?"

The blonde gave a weak smile, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. "Better than you, man Here, I got your glasses. They're kind of half broke, though."  
John returned the smile, happy to see his best friend again. He placed his glasses over his eyes, the return of sight waking him up a bit more. He managed to sit up, trying to get his back flat against the wall.

"Hey, wait a second." Karkat fixed John's pillows, trying to make him as comfortable as possible. Realizing that John would have trouble with scooting back too, he helped his friend get his back against the pillows.

"Thanks Karkat.. But, when are you guys leaving? Isn't it getting late?"

Dave looked out the window, seeing that the scene outside was dimming. He pursed his lips, a habit he had when holding back a frown.

"Well, Bro'll be mad if I get home late, so I gotta head out now.. I'm really sorry, John. I promise I'll come back first thing tomorrow. But it's a Sunday, so it won't be until around 3." The dark-haired boy smiled weakly at his friend. "It's okay, I understand. I'll see you tomorrow, Dave."

The blond boy stood and twisted to crack his back. With just two pops, a nod, and a pat on John's shoulder, he reluctantly existed the room.

John looked to his albino friend at his bedside. "What about you, Karkat? Shouldn't you get going before it gets dark?"

He shrugged, avoiding the question. "Are you thirsty or anything? Hungry, probably? You have been out for a few days, you should eat."

John smirked and let out a yawn. "I'll eat in the morning, I'm too tired now. Besides, the doctor told me to rest, right?" He felt his eyes get even heavier as he ended the sentence.

"Yeah, go ahead then. I'll stick around for a while in case you sleep walk into a wall or anything."

As John's eyes began to close, everything drifted away once more. Unlike the last time, all he heard was the sound of the air conditioning stirring behind the walls. All he felt was a hand rest on top of his own. Too tired to think of it, John's world slipped away, falling into the peaceful darkness of sleep.


	3. Chapter 3: Last Day

**okay, sorry for slow updates with school and all aughuu. i'll update again this weekend since it's a 3-day weekend!**

**reviews are much appreciated!~**

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John's eyes slowly, reluctantly opened, stinging against the bright hospital lights. He fumbled around for his glasses for a moment, finding them on the table at his bedside. He examined the room after putting his glasses on. Same it was yesterday, he wasn't even sure why he was looking. Same plain, white walls. Plain white everything, really. Two doors, one leading to the hallways and a smaller door he assumed led to a bathroom. He looked down at the sheets covering his legs when something caught his attention.

Karkat was sleeping with his head resting on John's bed, his hand outstretched towards John's, his fingers overlapping two of John's fingers. His other arm was awkwardly positioned under his head, supporting his head like a pillow. Karkat's jacket was laying across John's legs, covering his feet. The albino was still wearing his hoodie though. He always layered clothing in the winter. Always in order of a shirt first, hoodie second, jacket last.

The dark red hood was pulled up over Karkat's head, his white hair covering half his face. He looked more like he'd passed out than gotten a good night's rest. After all, there was a much larger couch than the chair Karkat was in, and not too far away. He must have slipped into sleep sometime during the night while trying to keep an eye on John.

With that thought, a smile crept onto John's face. He was glad his friend had stayed by him throughout the night. But what about Karkat's father, wouldn't he be angry? The smile slowly faded from John's face.

"...Karkat? Karkat, wake up." John gently nudged his friend with his knee.

Karkat clenched his eyes tight and moved his hands to push himself up. "What?.. Oh, shit, sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep like that." He rubbed the back of his neck, feeling sore all over from the awkward position he'd slept in. He arched his back and twisted, feeling it crack, relieving some soreness.

John chuckled lightly. "You want your jacket back?"

"Nah, you started shivering... It's damn cold in here, you know? And that blanket isn't long enough for you. You need it more than I do, anyway."

The dark-haired teen smiled. He felt a lot better. He wanted so badly to go home soon. He didn't want to be here anymore, he still hated hospitals more than anything. He looked at his arms. Two IVs. One seemed to be sugar-water, the other he assumed to be magnesium from the metal taste in his mouth.

"Hehe, my mouth tastes like metal.. wait, have you talked to the doctor at all?" John looked to his friend, suddenly realizing that he hadn't seen his father for days. "And.. has my dad been here at all?" He looked around, further examining the room for evidence of either of them.

Looking to his table, he realized 3 balloons were weighed down with a single paper weight. Two of them had words. "Get well soon!" and "PS. I'm proud of you, son," the latter being scrawled onto an otherwise plain balloon with a bold, black Sharpie marker. The last one was an ironic birthday balloon intended for a baby girl. He smiled at the balloons, somewhat surprised that Dave had gone through the effort of buying John a balloon.

Karkat thought for a second. "He was in here after you fell asleep. He said that if everything checks out okay, you might be able to go home today. He wants you to go to therapy in a few weeks though... And your dad was here too. He called my dad and explained the situation. Well, he already knew, but he needs things explained so many ways to understand. Ugh, he can be a dumbass... But, according to the school, I'm home sick today."

John smiled widely. "That's all great news! I actually do feel a lot better. I just want to go home and have things go back to normal already. But, heh, I guess that won't happen for a while. Everything's gonna be okay though, I know it." He tilted his head to the side, realizing that it was a Monday. "I feel bad for making you miss school, though."

"Don't mention it. Honestly, I don't mind." He bit his lips nervously and looked out the window. The noon sun bore down and reflected light into the window. "I don't know about you, but I think it's way too fucking bright in here." With that sentence, the teen stood and walked to the window, blocking sunlight with the blinds, then the curtains.

John's eyes relaxed at the dimming of the room. Happy to be able to see more, he invited his friend to sit down beside him again.

"So, how long have you even been here?" John strained to see Karkat's red eyes. He hated to admit it, but his glasses were pretty much broke. His vision was blurred in places, inconsistent and annoying.

Karkat burrowed his eyebrows and avoided eye contact as he sat back down. "Since you got here."

"The entire time?"

"You worried me, okay?" Karkat shifted in his seat, moving to put his arms on the side of John's bed. "You still need to eat," he stated bluntly.

John tilted his head again, considering the thought. His stomach grumbled audibly, as if answering for him. "Hehe, yeah, I guess I could eat."

Karkat smirked and rose from his chair. "I'll go get the nurse, she'll bring a menu."

"Er, Karkat? Could you maybe get me something from the vending machine instead...? Sorry..."

His friend chuckled and agreed to the request, quickly existing the room to retrieve a snack for both teens. After just a couple of minutes, he returned to the room, tossing John a sweet roll and a Pepsi, keeping the bag of chips and red Faygo for himself.

"If you need something else, I'm the one who can walk," he joked. Karkat opened his bag of chips and sat back down in the chair beside the bed. John pulled over his breakfast-in-bed table and told Karkat to put his food on the table as well.

John grinned at his friend. "Breakfast with my best friend! Great for celebrating maybe going home today, right?"

His friend smirked and reached for his Faygo, at the same time that John reached for it. Their hands overlapped. John pulled his hand back slightly.

"Sorry, I was going to hand it to you, I didn't mean to..." His sentence trailed off, his eyes darting both directions in nervous embarrassment.

Karkat thought for a moment, slowly pulling his hand back as well._ Ah, what the hell, I'm only gonna get this chance once,_ he thought.

"John," he said softly. Karkat reached for John's hand and held it in his own, intertwining their fingers; his hands shaky and uncoordinated.

John's cheeks grew warmer, and felt suddenly grateful for the lack of lighting. Only half the light that usually flooded the room was present. He couldn't help but smile at his friend, whose red eyes seemed to be burning in the dim light. His messy white hair fell over his forehead, and Karkat used it to his advantage to help hide his eyes from John. The darker haired teen squeezed Karkat's hand tighter, smiling at him when he lifted his glance.

"I'm really glad you're here, Karkat. And thanks a lot for the food. And for not getting the nurse. And for staying here all this time..." John went on thanking Karkat for everything, leaning closer to Karkat to try to emphasize his words. However, the albino quickly tired of John's rambling.

Before either of them could think, the distance between their faces closed, a pair of lips met John's. His eyes were still open, trying to register what was going on, widening in surprise when he realized who was kissing him. But he didn't want to push Karkat away. To be honest with himself, he'd thought about this many times before. Though he'd never dreamed of it happening under such circumstances. His eyes slowly shut, letting himself focus on the feeling and the taste of the moment. He held Karkat's hand slightly tighter, pulling his friend towards himself to the best of his abilities.

A few moments passed before Karkat realized what was going on. He'd acted on feeling. He hated doing that. He thought of feelings as more of a success barrier than anything. His eyes slowly opened, pulling his face back just as slowly. He looked at John's face, afraid of his reaction. The dark-haired teen's eyes were closed, himself as a whole stuck in place. He couldn't help but smile at John's face. He looked surprised, yet content. The smile faded quickly when a set of thoughts crept into the albino's head. _Fuck, I shouldn't have done that, this is going to fuck with everything. All John wants is normal and this isn't fucking normal for me to kiss him, fuck fuck fuck..._

"Fuck, I'm really sorry, I shouldn't have done that, I didn't know what I was thinking I'm really fucking sorry, John..." Karkat's voice hitched slightly. The worry made the words stop in his throat. His eyes began to sting and fill with hot tears. _God fucking dammit,_ he screamed in his mind. "I-"

His friend's hand gripped the back of his neck and pulled his face towards John's, his words were silenced by a pair of lips over his own.

John retracted from the kiss, holding Karkat's hand in both of his own. "It's okay, Karkat!... I'm actually really glad you did that," he said with a nervous laugh.

Karkat's cheeks felt wet, his eyes burning from the recently familiar tears in his eyes. His mouth hung halfway open, searching for words to say; his face expressing his rare surprised emotion. He stumbled over his own words, desperately trying to form a sentence. John giggled at Karkat's frustration. The albino took that as a sign to shut up. He bit his lip, still wanting to say so much, but he didn't have the words.

"Does... does this mean that we uh, feel the same then?" he finally managed to say.

His dark-haired friend smiled as widely as he could. "Of course I do! I have for a while, actually, I just never thought you... Well, I mean, I never thought you, uh... were gay. Or bi. Or whatever. I just didn't think I ever had a chance with you at all so I kept it to myself a lot and I was so afraid that y-"

Their lips met again, cutting off John's sentence again. "You talk too much, Egbert," Karkat said in a raspy voice, a smile obvious on both of their lips.

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**a/n: i'll get to this again when i can. still trying to fix format stuff, i apologize for any and all errors. ;A;**

**pssst, don't forget to review!**


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